100 Grandes Tangos

Carlos Gardel (1890–1935) is the greatest figure in the history of tango and one of the most influential Latin American artists of the 20th century. Possibly born in Toulouse, France, or in Tacuarembó, Uruguay — a mystery he himself cultivated with deliberate ambiguity — he grew up in the tenements of the Buenos Aires neighborhood of Abasto, where tango was born among the courtyards of immigrants and the street corners of the slums. From a young age, he showed an extraordinary voice and a natural magnetism that would take him, in a few years, from the cafés of Buenos Aires to the stages of Europe and Hollywood.

His partnership with the poet Alfredo Le Pera was decisive at the peak of his career: together they created some of the most perfect tangos ever written, such as 'Volver', 'El día que me quieras', 'Por una cabeza', and 'Sus ojos se cerraron'. Gardel recorded more than 900 songs between 1913 and 1935, filmed several movies for Paramount in Paris and New York, and became the first great popular idol of Argentine music. His legendary phrase 'each day he sings better' was born from popular devotion and still today describes the undiminished relevance of his art.

On June 24, 1935, Gardel died in a plane crash in Medellín, Colombia, while returning from a triumphant tour of Latin America. His death was a continental shock: crowds bid him farewell in Bogotá, New York, Montevideo, and Buenos Aires. He was buried in the Chacarita cemetery, where his statue — always with a lit cigarette between its fingers — receives flowers and tributes from pilgrims from all over the world. Gardel is not just a singer: he is the sounding soul of Buenos Aires and the eternal ambassador of tango to the world.